Lacing assembly for a shoe

ABSTRACT

A lacing assembly for a shoe, and particularly an athletic shoe, in which the side quarters include separate lower and upper vamp sections that are secured by a single lace extending therebetween. A clamp connects the lace at the lower vamp section, while the lace is secured separately at the upper vamp section, for selectively adjusting and maintaining the fit of each vamp section independently of the other vamp section. The clamp is carried by the lace between the lower and upper vamp sections. More particularly, the clamp is slidably mounted on the lace for selectively moving down or up on the lace upon adjusting the fit of the lower vamp section, the clamp selectively fixing the lace to maintain the desired adjusted fit of the lower vamp section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to improvements in the lacing assemblyof a shoe, and more particularly to an improved lacing assembly for anathletic shoe in which lower and upper vamp sections can be selectivelyadjusted and maintained to fit different portions of the footindependently while utilizing a single lace for and extending betweenthe lower and upper vamp sections.

In applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,796, an athletic shoe isdisclosed having separate lower and upper vamp sections. A pair of lacesare provided, one lace for each vamp section. While each vamp sectioncan be adjustably fitted and maintained by its own individual lace, ithas been found to be disadvantageous to use a pair of separate laces foreach shoe. For example, when untied, a pair of laces presents four looseends that can become tangled and must be stored out into appropriatepairs before each vamp section can be adjustably fitted and tied.Moreover, when a pair of laces are tied, each lace provides a bow,thereby providing a pair of bows on each shoe that can become tangledand which present an unconventional and unacceptable appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present lacing assembly for a shoe, and particularly an athleticshoe, provides for selectively adjusting and maintaining the fit oflower and upper vamp sections independently of each other, whileutilizing a lacing that presents only a conventional pair of loose endswhen untied and a single conventional bow when tied.

In the present lacing assembly, a lacing means is provided for andextends between separate lower and upper vamp sections of the sidequarters, and a securing means interconnects the lacing means at thelower vamp section, while the lacing means is secured separately at theupper vamp section, for selectively adjusting and maintaining the fit ofeach vamp section independently of the other vamp section.

The securing means connecting the lacing means at the lower vamp sectionis preferably located between the lower and upper vamp sections. Moreparticularly, the securing means is a clamp selectively fixing orloosening the lacing means at the lower vamp section for adjusting thefit of the lower vamp section for the comfort of the wearer at theforward foot portion and toes, while the fit of the upper vamp sectioncan be adjusted for the comfort of the wearer at the instep and arch ofthe foot.

The clamp is of a type that can be slidably mounted on the lacing meansfor selectively moving down or up on the lacing means upon adjusting thefit of the lower vamp section, and which can be selectively fixed to thelacing means to maintain the desired adjusted fit.

Preferably, the lacing means for and extending between the lower andupper vamp sections is a single lace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an athletic shoe incorporating thelacing assembly and illustrating both vamp sections secured;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating theupper vamp section loosened by the lace independently of the lower vampsection;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view of the lacing clampfor the lower vamp section;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing, and first toFIGS. 1-2, it will be understood that the shoe generally indicated by 10is of the type usually designated as an athletic shoe. The shoe 10includes a sole 11, a toe cap 12 and a toe guard 13 along the front edgeof the sole 11. A tongue 14 is attached to and extends upwardly from thetop cap 12. The shoe 10 is provided with left and right side quarters 15and 16 which are brought together at the rear in a heel 17. The sidequarters 15-16 of shoe 10 overlay the tongue 14 and are adapted tooverlay the instep, arch and forward foot portion and toes of the personwearing the shoe. This forward part of the side quarters 15-16 is knownas the vamp referred to by 20.

The vamp 20 includes a lower vamp section 21 that overlies the forwardfoot portion and the toes, and an upper vamp section 22 that overlaysthe arch and instep of the foot. These vamp sections are constructed sothat the upper vamp section 22 overlaps the upper part of the lower vampsection 21.

The associated pairs of panels defining the lower vamp section 21 andthe upper vamp section 22 are provided with opposed eyelets 23. Lacingmeans 24 is provided for and extends between the lower and upper vampsections 21-22. The lacing means 24 consists preferably of a single lacethat is attached to the lowermost opposed pair of eyelets 23 of lowervamp section 21 and then criss-crossed into the other eyelets 23 in theconventional manner, and is then passed into the lowermost pair ofopposed eyelets 23 of the upper vamp section 22 and is criss-crossedinto the other eyelets 23 of upper vamp section 22. The ends of the lacecan be selectively tied in a bow at the upper vamp section 22.

The clamp 25, constituting a securing means, connects the lacing means24 at the lower vamp section, and is located between the lower and uppervamp sections 21-22. The clamp 25 selectively fixes or loosens thelacing means 24 at the lower vamp section 21 for adjusting the fit ofthe lower vamp section 21 for the comfort of the wearer independently ofthe upper vamp section 22.

As is best shown in FIGS. 3-5, the clamp 25 includes a hollow body 26having a back wall 27 and a front wall 30 with a chamber 31therebetween. The front wall 30 is provided with an elongate guide slot32.

Slidably mounted in the body chamber 31 is a lock plunger 33, theplunger 33 including a guide lug 34 that is slidably received in theguide slot 32. As is best illustrated in FIG. 5, the plunger 33 dividesthe chamber 31 into a pair of side passages 35 and 36 through which thelacing means 24 extends. The inner end of plunger 33 is provided withserrations 37 adapted to engage and grip the lacing means 24 when thelock plunger 33 is moved inwardly to its locked position relative to thelacing means 24.

When the lacing means 24 is disposed in the clamp 25, and particularlyin the side passages 35-36, the clamp 25 can be slidably moved down orup on the lacing means 24, when the lock plunger 33 is moved to itsextended, unlocked position. When the clamp 25 is moved to the desiredselected position on the lacing means 24 incident to adjusting the fitof the lower vamp section 21 for the comfort of the wearer, the lockplunger 33 is depressed to its locking position in which the serrations37 and the inner end of plunger 33 engage and fix the lacing means 24 inorder to maintain the desired adjusted fit of the lower vamp section 21.

To assemble the clamp 25 on the lacing means 24, the lace is laced tothe lower vamp section 21 in the manner previously described, and thenthe ends of the lace are passed through the side passages 35 and 36 ofthe clamp 25, and the clamp 25 is slidably moved along the lace until itis located at the top of the lower vamp section 21 and between the lowerand upper vamp sections 21-22. Then, the ends of the lace are laced tothe upper vamp section 22 in the manner previously described.

It is thought that the usage and functional advantages of this lacingassembly has become fully apparent from the foregoing detaileddescription of parts, but for completeness of disclosure, the adjustmentof the fit of the lower and upper vamp sections 21-22 and the fixing ofthe lacing means 24 will be briefly described. It will be assumed thatthe lower and upper vamp sections 21-22 have been laced and the clamp 25appropriately attached to the lacing means 24 and located between thelower and upper sections 21-22.

The lacing means 24 is loosened at both the lower and upper vampsections 21-22 to allow for the easy insertion of the foot into the shoe10. This is accomplished by untying the lacing means 24 at the uppervamp section 22 is necessary, and loosening the lacing means 24 at theupper vamp section 22. The clamp 25 is slidably moved upwardly on thelacing means 24 by releasing the clamp 25 by pulling the lock plunger 33outwardly to its extended, unlocked position. Then the lacing means 24can be loosened relative to the lower vamp section 21. The foot of thewearer can then be placed completely within the shoe.

The fit of the lower vamp section 21 is first adjusted by tightening thelacing means 24 at the top of the lower vamp section 21 until theforward foot portion and toes of the wearer are comfortably gripped bythe lower vamp section 21. Then the clamp 25 is slidably moved down onthe lacing means 24 to take up any slack in the lacing means 24 at thetop of the lower vamp section 21, and the clamp 25 is fixed to thelacing means 24 to maintain the desired adjusted fit of the lower vampsection 21. As explained previously, the clamp 25 is fixed by pressingthe lock plunger 33 inwardly into locking, wedging engagement with thelacing means 24.

Then the lacing means 24 of the upper vamp section 22 is tightened sothat the upper vamp section 22 comfortably grips the instep and arch ofthe foot. It will be understood that this adjustment of the upper vampsection 22 is accomplished independently of and without disturbing theadjusted fit of the lower vamp section 21. The free ends of the lacingmeans 24 at the top of the upper vamp section 22 are then tied orotherwise secured, as is shown in FIG. 1.

The clamp 25 connects the lacing means 24 at the lower vamp section 21,while the lacing means 24 is secured separately at the upper vampsection 22, thereby enabling selective adjustment and maintenance of thefit of each vamp section 21-22 independently of the other vamp section.The clamp 25 is relatively small and is carried by the lacing means 24and is located unobtrusively between the lower and upper vamp sections21 and 22. Further, the clamp 25 and its location and connection to thelacing means 24 enables the use of a single lace for both the lower andupper vamp sections 21 and 22, and still provides for the independentadjustment of the fit of each vamp section.

I claim as my invention:
 1. In a lacing assembly for a shoe:(a) sidequarters including separate lower and upper vamp sections, (b) a single,continuous lace having only one pair of ends, the single lace lacingboth and extending between the lower and upper vamp sections, and havingthe one pair of lace ends selectively tied at the top of the upper vampsection, and (c) a clamp interconnecting the single lace at the top ofthe lower vamp section for selectively fixing or loosening the lace atthe top of the lower vamp section and adjusting the fit of the lowervamp section for the comfort of the wearer independently of the uppervamp section, the said one pair of lace ends being separately,selectively tied at the top of the upper vamp section and adjusting thefit of the upper vamp section for the comfort of the wearerindependently of the lower vamp section.
 2. In a lacing assembly for ashoe as defined in claim 1, in which:(d) the clamp is slidably mountedon the single lace, and located between the lower and upper vampsections, the clamp being selectively movable down or up on the singlelace upon adjusting the fit of the lower vamp section, and the clampincluding means for selectively fixing the single lace at the top of thelower vamp section and maintaining the desired adjusted fit of the lowervamp section. .Iadd.
 3. In a lacing assembly for a shoe: (a) a vamphaving adjacent vamp sections, (b) a single, continuous lace having onlyone pair of ends, the single lace lacing both vamp sections, and havingthe one pair of lace ends selectively tied at one of the vamp sections,and (c) a clamp interconnecting the single lace at the other of saidvamp sections for selectively fixing or loosening the lace andmaintaining the lace at the said other vamp section for the comfort ofthe wearer independently of the said one vamp section, the said one pairof lace ends being separately, selectively tied at the said one vampsection and adjusting the fit of the said one vamp section for thecomfort of the wearer independently of the said other vamp section..Iaddend. .Iadd.
 4. In a lacing assembly for a shoe: (a) side quartersincluding a vamp having lower and upper vamp sections, (b) a single,continuous lace having only one pair of ends, the single lace lacingboth lower and upper vamp sections, and having the one pair of lace endsselectively tied at the upper vamp section, and (c) a clampinterconnecting the single lace at the lower vamp section forselectively fixing or loosening the lace at the lower vamp section andadjusting and maintaining the fit of the lower vamp section for thecomfort of the wearer independently of the upper vamp section, the saidone pair of lace ends being separately, selectively tied at the uppervamp section and adjusting the fit of the upper vamp section for thecomfort of the wearer independently of the lower vamp section. .Iaddend.